Home » About » News » College students found EVOLVE provided an invaluable experience for their future careers in E&P

College students in E&P disciplines are gaining real-world, collaborative work experiences through EVOLVE, a Halliburton academic initiative. Read more to discover student perspectives about this innovative, non-competitive learning opportunity in the cloud.

Jingjing Zong, a University of Houston student and EVOLVE team leader, said, “My team members came from different backgrounds, including geology, geophysics, rock physics, so we looked for common ground.” Zong added, “That was invaluable experience and priceless preparation for work life.”

Elita de Abreu, another University of Houston EVOLVE student team leader, said, “EVOLVE set the stage for a truly collaborative, learning experience. So many benefits arose from this learning framework, such as how to communicate your ideas in a team atmosphere.”

The program’s inaugural results indicate the program’s whole is more than the sum of its parts. “Much like an integrated software enterprise platform breaks down communication siloes between domains, this open collaboration generated world-class excellence because ideas and challenges were shared and discussed, which led to optimal solutions,” said Rekha Patel, Halliburton Ecosystem Evangelist and EVOLVE board member.

An example of teamwork paying off was the presentation templates used by the university students to present at an SEG industry event. All three UH teams considered de Abreu’s PowerPoint templates superior to those created by other team members. de Abreu said, “I was happy to share the presentation templates because knowledge is for sharing, and EVOLVE set the stage for a truly team-focused, learning experience.” de Abreu further explained that in the end, she didn’t feel like a team leader who had to nudge others to get work done but a team member because her cohesive team was so committed to the project. “These are the kind of skills that any HR director likes to see when considering candidates,” says Patel.

The teams presented their geoscience findings at a SEG conference. There, the students presented to a panel of industry experts and fielded questions about their work. Zong explained that the students wanted to not only master their topics, but their teammates’ as well. She added, “We were so well versed in our team’s work that we presented each other’s sections.” And in a nod to a global workplace environment, two of the students presented from a feed that originated from Houston.